Will Google X Collaboration Usher in Next Generation of the Construction Industry?

A new company called Flux—born out of the Google X laboratory—is “reimagining building design for a more sustainable future.” Flux is a provider of collaborative design software for the building-construction industry and executives recently announced that venture capital firms have invested $8 million in Series A financing into the innovative company. Google X is a semi-secret, high-tech hub that has spawned several technological advances in many industries over the last few years.

The future of construction is now.

The founding team at Flux sought a radical solution to reduce the environmental footprint of buildings, while simultaneously addressing rising demand for buildings driven by rapid urbanization. “The power required to heat, cool, light, and power devices in the places we live and work is responsible for 40 percent of our carbon emissions,” said Michelle Kaufmann, co-founder and architect, said in a statement. “Much of this power is wasted due to inadequate design, antiquated technology, and poor construction quality.”

According to projections by the Flux team, over the next thirty years, the building industry needs to supply housing and workplaces for more than three billion people. The amount is nearly double the current urban building stock. For the past year, the Flux team has been developing a methodology capable of managing the full complexity of designing site-adapted, high-performance, and healthy buildings. The official public launch of the system is scheduled for early 2015.

Several industry partners are working with Flux in research, development, and funding. DFJ, Borealis Ventures, Andreesen Horowitz, and Google Ventures– four large and respected venture capital firms—are funding the project.

“We simply cannot continue building the way we have,” said Steve Jurvetson, a DFJ Partner who has joined Flux’s Board of Directors. “We need to leverage new technologies, massive data sets, and new processes to increase productivity, scale the scope of design, and improve the places where we live and work. At DFJ, we look for great visionaries with unique ideas that can change the world. The Flux team is a perfect example, with a powerful mission unlike any that I have ever seen.”

We salute this new technology at North America Heavy Equipment Training Services. In our own way with training, we are preparing heavy equipment operators for the next generation and with proper training work sites and companies operate at the most efficient levels possible. We welcome the future that Flux may bring in the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry.
“Flux represents a paradigm shift for the AEC industry that uniquely leverages customer investments in existing BIM and analysis tools,” said Jesse Devitte, Managing Director of Borealis Ventures and a thirty-year veteran of the AEC software industry.” It is also an example of the type of team, R&D investment, and next generation of design and engineering solutions that the industry deserves and Borealis takes pride in supporting.”